Way more often than not, Turtle Beach make a shelluva good headset. You've got to sand it to 'em. Horrific wordplay aside, their products do often grace the apex end of our Budget to Best lists. My sound catchers have been happily ensconced in their offerings since the company started making ear-cans in 2005, which is why I jumped to give these new Stealth Pros a crack.
As you'd expect from a high-end audio solution, they're not an inexpensive proposition. That being said, if you're a connoisseur of aural pleasures — or a pro gaming strategist who knows the value of bat-level threat detection — then the price of a well-made peripheral at this tier is often justified.
Before I dive into the pros and cons of this headset as I see them, we should probably get you shoot-from-the-hip shoppers out of the way with the cheapest deals on these.
Now that you have an idea for the asking price, let's go granular on what works and what doesn't.
Just as their ninja-esque moniker would suggest, the Stealth Pros are aesthetically unassuming. But what appears to be borderline minimalist, hides some killer tech within. Along with some of the most seductive sonics Turtle Beach has ever produced, you're getting an EQ-able noise-cancelling microphone, multi-plat compatibility, swappable batteries, active noise cancellation, and simultaneous dual mode wireless.
For those of you unfamiliar with the latter feature, it's one of those “can't do without it now” offerings. Essentially, you can seamlessly blend in the audio of a Bluetooth source into your game audio. Personally, I got a kick out of using it to mix utterly discordant things — like shredding hellspawn in Diablo IV while listening to The Most Meditative Ragas of Ravi Shankar. But I suppose a more normal person could use it to weave more audiobooks (or action-enhancing music) into their life with this tech.
Swappable batteries are another important entry in that list, as hooking up a wire simply isn't an option here. After roughly 12 hours of unadulterated ear candy, you will need to take a moment to pop open the right cup and do a pitstop swap. Fortunately, two packs are provided in this package, plus there's a charging base to always keep the annoyance of this switcheroo to a minimum.
It's also worth noting that the charge base comes with a switch to make it better integrate with your platform of choice. And if you do forget to have your secondary battery ready, it only takes a quarter of an hour to fast-charge from empty to 3 hours worth of use. With a bit of forethought, you can always stay in the sweet spot of Stealth Pro-ing.
When it comes to aesthetics, it's clear that this 413 gram offering has pulled back on the “capital G” gamer look. Personally, I have no fewer than four Turtle Beach headsets kicking about my gaming cave and, despite a blue or a green here, they all look more or less the same. The Stealth Pro appears to be an evolutionary step beyond them. A breed apart. A very distant cousin, at best.
Given the money you're paying, I think that's wonderful news. I don't want to be the Steam Deck packing guy sitting on the train who looks like he's been teleported out of an MLG tournament into the real world. A headset with classy gunmetal ring and yoke accents married to a matte black band and cups will get me a second glance for the right reasons. (Basic consumer envy instead of a fish-out-of-water double-take.)
The Stealth Pro also manages to straddle the fine line of not being absolutely stuccoed with too many buttons, knobs and dials, yet controlling it is easy and intuitive. Your right earcup is where most of the action is — the biggest deal being a volume wheel that can be remapped to affect mic sensitivity, bass, sidetone, and more.
Buttons-wise, you can cycle ANC to On / Transperancy/ Off. Depressing this button longer toggles into volume control for your secondary Bluetooth source. Lastly, there's a button to engage the 2023 equivalent of my Sony Boom Box's BASS BOOST mode (known here as the vastly superior Superhuman Hearing). Gen-X-centric jokes aside, that feature can offer you a phenomenal edge, provided you take the time to tune the EQs to the specific footsteps or gunshots SFX in your favourite online multiplayer poison.
Inside the Stealth Pro's sizeable cups, it hides hand-paired 50mm Nanoclear dynamic drivers. Out of the box impressions without tweaking are of a lovely bass-rich output that doesn't go overboard with the “beast below”. Incidentally, if you do wish to tweak the cans and the mic, there's a dedicated app that offers a considerable amount of control. I was particularly impressed with the number of EQ presets available for the detachable mic, something that's often glossed over by competing headsets.
When it comes to what I feel is one of the most important goals of escapism — blocking out the awful real world — the Stealth Pros noise-cancel like a champion. While the algorithm of ANC here may not give you a House Harkonnen Cone of Silence effect, I was impressed by how much outside interference it stripped from my surroundings. Doorbells. Bickering children in adjacent rooms. My vocal, opportunist cat who often insists it's never been fed. I could hear very, very little of them.
Honestly, the Stealth Pros sound rather phenomenal, no matter which preset you go with. These agile drivers keep the lows punchy and sharp without losing their impact or getting fuzzy in the mids. Higher up in the range, the all important signature sounds of silencer clicks, muzzle retorts and footfalls all ping up out of the mix nicely.
Ultimately, the bottom line is this: The Stealth Pro now represents Turtle Beach's flagship headset. Top of the pile — 18 years of studious iteration. The price tag may be right up there, but so is the build quality, comfort, and aural experience.
Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube. He barely tweets.
Continue reading...
As you'd expect from a high-end audio solution, they're not an inexpensive proposition. That being said, if you're a connoisseur of aural pleasures — or a pro gaming strategist who knows the value of bat-level threat detection — then the price of a well-made peripheral at this tier is often justified.
Before I dive into the pros and cons of this headset as I see them, we should probably get you shoot-from-the-hip shoppers out of the way with the cheapest deals on these.
The Best Deals on Turtle Beach Stealth Pro
Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Impressions
Now that you have an idea for the asking price, let's go granular on what works and what doesn't.
Hardware Features Overview
Just as their ninja-esque moniker would suggest, the Stealth Pros are aesthetically unassuming. But what appears to be borderline minimalist, hides some killer tech within. Along with some of the most seductive sonics Turtle Beach has ever produced, you're getting an EQ-able noise-cancelling microphone, multi-plat compatibility, swappable batteries, active noise cancellation, and simultaneous dual mode wireless.
For those of you unfamiliar with the latter feature, it's one of those “can't do without it now” offerings. Essentially, you can seamlessly blend in the audio of a Bluetooth source into your game audio. Personally, I got a kick out of using it to mix utterly discordant things — like shredding hellspawn in Diablo IV while listening to The Most Meditative Ragas of Ravi Shankar. But I suppose a more normal person could use it to weave more audiobooks (or action-enhancing music) into their life with this tech.
Swappable batteries are another important entry in that list, as hooking up a wire simply isn't an option here. After roughly 12 hours of unadulterated ear candy, you will need to take a moment to pop open the right cup and do a pitstop swap. Fortunately, two packs are provided in this package, plus there's a charging base to always keep the annoyance of this switcheroo to a minimum.
It's also worth noting that the charge base comes with a switch to make it better integrate with your platform of choice. And if you do forget to have your secondary battery ready, it only takes a quarter of an hour to fast-charge from empty to 3 hours worth of use. With a bit of forethought, you can always stay in the sweet spot of Stealth Pro-ing.
Build Quality / Feel
When it comes to aesthetics, it's clear that this 413 gram offering has pulled back on the “capital G” gamer look. Personally, I have no fewer than four Turtle Beach headsets kicking about my gaming cave and, despite a blue or a green here, they all look more or less the same. The Stealth Pro appears to be an evolutionary step beyond them. A breed apart. A very distant cousin, at best.
Given the money you're paying, I think that's wonderful news. I don't want to be the Steam Deck packing guy sitting on the train who looks like he's been teleported out of an MLG tournament into the real world. A headset with classy gunmetal ring and yoke accents married to a matte black band and cups will get me a second glance for the right reasons. (Basic consumer envy instead of a fish-out-of-water double-take.)
The Stealth Pro also manages to straddle the fine line of not being absolutely stuccoed with too many buttons, knobs and dials, yet controlling it is easy and intuitive. Your right earcup is where most of the action is — the biggest deal being a volume wheel that can be remapped to affect mic sensitivity, bass, sidetone, and more.
Buttons-wise, you can cycle ANC to On / Transperancy/ Off. Depressing this button longer toggles into volume control for your secondary Bluetooth source. Lastly, there's a button to engage the 2023 equivalent of my Sony Boom Box's BASS BOOST mode (known here as the vastly superior Superhuman Hearing). Gen-X-centric jokes aside, that feature can offer you a phenomenal edge, provided you take the time to tune the EQs to the specific footsteps or gunshots SFX in your favourite online multiplayer poison.
Audio Experience
Inside the Stealth Pro's sizeable cups, it hides hand-paired 50mm Nanoclear dynamic drivers. Out of the box impressions without tweaking are of a lovely bass-rich output that doesn't go overboard with the “beast below”. Incidentally, if you do wish to tweak the cans and the mic, there's a dedicated app that offers a considerable amount of control. I was particularly impressed with the number of EQ presets available for the detachable mic, something that's often glossed over by competing headsets.
When it comes to what I feel is one of the most important goals of escapism — blocking out the awful real world — the Stealth Pros noise-cancel like a champion. While the algorithm of ANC here may not give you a House Harkonnen Cone of Silence effect, I was impressed by how much outside interference it stripped from my surroundings. Doorbells. Bickering children in adjacent rooms. My vocal, opportunist cat who often insists it's never been fed. I could hear very, very little of them.
Honestly, the Stealth Pros sound rather phenomenal, no matter which preset you go with. These agile drivers keep the lows punchy and sharp without losing their impact or getting fuzzy in the mids. Higher up in the range, the all important signature sounds of silencer clicks, muzzle retorts and footfalls all ping up out of the mix nicely.
Ultimately, the bottom line is this: The Stealth Pro now represents Turtle Beach's flagship headset. Top of the pile — 18 years of studious iteration. The price tag may be right up there, but so is the build quality, comfort, and aural experience.
Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube. He barely tweets.
Continue reading...
